1. Pope Leo XIV declares ‘I am Roman!’ as he completes formalities to become bishop of Rome, The Associated Press, May 25, 2025
Pope Leo XIV declared himself a Roman on Sunday as he completed the final ceremonial steps cementing his role as the bishop of Rome.
The first American pope was formally taking possession of two papal basilicas in the Eternal City, a formality that serves to ceremonially introduce Leo to his Roman flock.
One of the many titles that Leo assumed when he was elected May 8 was bishop of Rome. Given his responsibilities running the 1.4-billion strong universal Catholic Church, popes delegate the day-to-day governance of running of the diocese of Rome to a vicar.
Sunday’s ceremonies at the St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major basilicas follow Leo’s visit last week to the St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica. Together with St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the four papal basilicas are the most important basilicas in the West.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/25/pope-leo-xiv-declares-roman-completes-formalities-become-bishop-rome/
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2. Pope prays for Chinese Catholics to be in communion with Rome in first comments on thorny issues, By Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press, May 25, 2025
Pope Leo XIV asked Sunday for prayers for China’s Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public remarks about one of the thorniest foreign policy issues facing his new pontificate.
History’s first American pope recalled that on Saturday the Catholic Church marked a special feast day to pray for the church in China. Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China’s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn’t recognize papal authority, and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution.
Leo noted that on the feast day “in the churches and shrines in China and throughout the world, prayers have been raised to God as a sign of the solicitude and affection for Chinese Catholics and their communion with the universal church.”
Speaking from his studio window during his noontime blessing, Leo prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere “obtain the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always promote peace and harmony.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/25/pope-prays-chinese-catholics-communion-rome-first-comments-thorny/
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3. Tens of thousands flock to see a Spanish saint’s remains more than 440 years after her death, By Suman Naishadham and Alicia Leon, The Associated Press, May 26, 2025, 5:29 AM
They lined up to see her, silent and wonderstruck: Inside an open silver coffin was Saint Teresa of Ávila, more than 440 years after her death.
Catholic worshippers have been flocking to Alba de Tormes, a town ringed by rolling pastures in western Spain where the remains of the Spanish saint, mystic and 16th-century religious reformer were on display this month.
On Monday morning, the coffin of the saint who died in 1582 was resealed and carried through the town streets, with pilgrims following the procession. It is unclear how many years — or decades — will pass before the church once again makes St. Teresa’s remains visible to the public.
Teresa was last displayed in 1914, when devotees had a single day to see the saint. This time, the display drew almost 100,000 visitors over two weeks, said Miguel Ángel González, the prior of the Discalced Carmelites of Salamanca.
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What is visible is a skull dressed in a habit with vestments covering other parts of the body, not all of which is intact. The saint’s heart is kept in another part of the church, officials said. Other body parts are kept as relics — fingers, a hand and a jaw — in churches across Europe .
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/26/spain-catholic-saint-teresa-pope-leo/dcb8c588-3a13-11f0-912d-d5f4792db3e4_story.html
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4. What Should We Make of the Supreme Court’s St. Isidore of Seville Virtual School Decision?, By Andrea M. Picciotti-Bayer, National Catholic Register, May 24, 2025 Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is a legal analyst for EWTN News, and director of the Conscience Project.
After Oklahoma’s Charter School Board certified St. Isidore of Seville Virtual School — an online school created jointly by the two Catholic dioceses in the state — Attorney General Gentner Drummond objected. He successfully petitioned the state’s highest court to order the charter school board to withdraw certification.
Unwilling to accept such blatant religious discrimination, both St. Isidore’s and the Oklahoma Charter School Board asked the Supreme Court to review the matter. On Thursday, the Supreme Court deadlocked — a result that allows Drummond to keep St. Isidore’s from opening as a charter school. For now.
The Court’s per curiam opinion stated simply that the judgment of the Oklahoma Supreme Court was affirmed by an “equally divided Court.” The order did not include a vote count.
This sort of unusual occurrence — a 4-4 split — came about because one of the justices, Amy Coney Barrett, recused herself from participating in the Court’s review of the matter. Barrett did not explain her reasons for her recusal, but likely considerations were her close ties to Notre Dame’s Religious Liberty Clinic, which represented St. Isidore’s, as well as her longtime friendship with a chief adviser to the school, Notre Dame Law professor Nicole Garnett.
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It’s only a matter of time before a case questioning the constitutionality of excluding religious schools from charter-school programs is before the high court once again. When that time comes, let’s hope that Justice Barrett is on the bench and Chief Justice Roberts allows fairness and religious freedom to win the day.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/bayer-oklahoma-s-charter-school-opinion-analysis
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5. Why ‘Pietas’ Is the Forgotten Virtue We Need to Remember on Memorial Day, By Father Jeffrey Kirby, National Catholic Register, May 26, 2025, Commentaries
On this Memorial Day, we pause as a nation and remember those who have died in defense of our freedoms. As we honor our fallen heroes, we can best revere their memory by extolling the virtues they exemplified.
Some years ago, I was visiting Arlington National Cemetery and came across a large headstone that had the simple inscription “Pietas.” There were no names or dates or accolades on the stone, as if to say this one word said it all.
When the Latin word pietas is translated into English, we have the word “piety.” Regrettably, piety has an effeminate connotation in some corners and in general the English word doesn’t hold the gravitas of the Latin term. We certainly lose something in translation.
With that linguistic clarification in mind, we can use the Latin term. And so, what is pietas? Why would that single word be placed on a headstone in a military cemetery and thought somehow to be sufficient?
The Roman philosopher Cicero said it best when he described pietas in his writings.
Translated as devotion or duty, the word symbolized one of the principal virtues praised by the ancient republic.
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We, too, have a debt we cannot pay. We also have a duty that is calling for fulfillment. We, too, are summoned to a life of charity through pietas. And on this Memorial Day, we are especially reminded that a portion of our duty is to honor the dead, revere the fallen, and do our part to serve the common good.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/father-kirby-pietas-memorial-day
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6. Pope Leo XIV delivers first homily as bishop of Rome at Basilica of St. John Lateran, By Victoria Cardiel, Catholic News Agency, May 25, 2025, 1:17 PM
Pope Leo XIV delivered his first homily as bishop of Rome at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where he took possession of his cathedra (throne) on Sunday.
The pontiff said ecclesial communion is built “on our knees, through prayer and constant commitment to conversion” as he invoked the example of the first Christians, who faced the challenges of proclaiming the Gospel to a pagan world.
Reflecting on the episode from the Acts of the Apostles, where the early Christians debated about whether Gentile converts had to follow the law of Moses, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that “this was no easy matter; it called for much patience and mutual listening.”
He referenced the Council of Jerusalem, the first great council of the early Church, in which “a dialogue was opened” that led to a fitting decision: “Recognizing the difficulties of the new converts, they agreed not to impose excessive burdens on them but rather to insist only on what was essential.”
“In this way,” he added, “what might have seemed a problem became for everyone an opportunity for reflection and growth.”
“The most important part of the entire event,” he emphasized, “was listening to God’s voice, which made everything else possible.” This, he said, is how communion is truly built.
“For only in this way can each of us hear within the voice of the Spirit crying out ‘Abba! Father!’ and then, as a result, listen to and understand others as our brothers and sisters,” he continued.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264341/pope-leo-xiv-delivers-first-homily-as-bishop-of-rome-at-the-basilica-of-st-john-lateran
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7. French bishops lead prayer vigil at Notre-Dame amid euthanasia debate, By Solène Tadié, Catholic News Agency, May 25, 2025, 7:00 AM
The 16th annual Vigil for Life was held in the newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on the evening of May 21 as the French Parliament continues to debate legislation that would legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Organized by the bishops of the Île-de-France region, the vigil has taken place annually since 2009. The 2025 edition, which gathered approximately 2,000 faithful, centered on the theme “Builders of Love, Let Us Live in Hope!”
The 2024 edition, also marked by the national conversation on end-of-life issues, carried the theme “When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong” (2 Cor 12:10).
This year’s gathering featured a series of testimonies from individuals with diverse personal and professional backgrounds, offering reflections on the ethical and human dimensions of end-of-life care and the responsibilities society bears toward the most vulnerable.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264335/french-bishops-lead-prayer-vigil-at-notre-dame-amid-euthanasia-debate
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8. Cardinal Dolan receives award from Becket for religious liberty leadership, By Tyler Arnold, Catholic News Agency, May 24, 2025, 8:00 AM
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York was named the Becket Fund’s 2025 Canterbury Medalist, an award that honors his career-long commitment to religious liberty.
“His Eminence has been a towering figure in the fight for religious liberty, not just for Catholics, but for people of all faiths,” Becket President Mark Rienzi said in a statement. “Cardinal Dolan’s leadership in the public square has shaped the national conscience on religious freedom and strengthened the resolve of those who defend it.”
Becket, a nonprofit law firm that represents clients who are defending their religious liberty in court, awarded Dolan the medal during its annual gala in New York. According to Becket, the honor recognizes individuals who demonstrate courage and commitment to defending religious liberty in the United States and globally.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264329/cardinal-dolan-receives-award-from-becket-for-religious-liberty-leadership
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9. On sexual abuse cases, can Leo’s past say much about the future?, By JD Flynn, The Pillar, May 23, 2025
In the two weeks since Pope Leo XIV was elected, the pope has been celebrated among Catholics of all stripes and ecclesiastical tribes, with many hoping that the pontiff will bring some peace and stability to the Church after a tumultuous 12 years, and effect necessary reforms at the Roman Curia and in the Vatican City State Governorate.
Around the world, some Catholics hope that Leo will rescind Traditionis custodes, let the synod on synodality be consigned to the dustbin of history, or “answer the dubia,” as it were.
Others hope for the very opposite.
But in either case, it seems clear that most Catholics hope that Leo will prove adept at handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse and misconduct around the world, with many hoping the pontiff will bring the rule of law more consistently to an area of the Church’s life which has seemed in recent years to be governed by inconsistency or caprice.
But Leo’s track record on abuse has been consistently questioned, both before he became the Bishop of Rome and since, with some advocacy groups raising frequent concerns that Leo will not take sexual abuse and misconduct in the life of the Church seriously, or address it fairly.
Does his record indicate that? Without more information, it’s hard to know. In fact, there is little information to yet predict what kind of pope will be addressing the profound ecclesiastical crisis of the 21st century.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/on-sexual-abuse-cases-can-leos-past
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10. Pope Leo and Latin America’s axis of authoritarians, There are several pressing diplomatic issues in the pope’s adoptive episcopal region of Latin America, By Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar, May 23, 2025
As Leo XIV settles into his role as pope, it is expected that he will not make radical changes in the Vatican at first.
However, diplomacy has its own rhythm, and circumstances might force the pope to act internationally sooner rather than later.
There are several pressing diplomatic issues in the pope’s adoptive episcopal region of Latin America. Leo’s actions in each of those situations could soon offer some insight into his diplomatic style and priorities.
Latin America has three governments widely considered to be left-wing dictatorships: Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Engaging with dictatorships is always a delicate balancing act. Maintaining too close a relationship with the regime could give the appearance of sympathy, or even complicity. But speaking out too boldly could result in persecution for the local Church in retribution.
Pope Francis approached each of these countries differently, with approaches that were both praised for helping foster peace for the local Church and criticized for what was locally viewed as complicity with authoritarian regimes.
Pope Leo XIV will now have to decide whether to continue the approaches of his predecessor or to make a fresh start.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/pope-leo-and-latin-americas-axis
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11. Judge orders Trump administration to restore transgender health web pages, By Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, May 23, 2025
A federal judge has ruled that the administration went too far when it deleted medical articles from a government website because they ran afoul of President Trump’s executive order banning the government from promoting transgender or gender identity ideas.
Judge Leo Sorokin, an Obama appointee to the court in Massachusetts, said Friday the whole operation was messy from the start.
The Health and Human Services Department used clunky word searches to try to spot offending pieces, and removed them without giving authors notice. And they were told the articles would only be re-posted after the offending words were removed. Two authors who refused sued to demand their articles be restored in full, and Judge Sorokin issued a preliminary injunction granting that demand.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/23/judge-orders-trump-administration-restore-transgender-health-web/
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TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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